• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Spoilers SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread

Rate All That's Left

  • Outstanding

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Above Average

    Votes: 8 33.3%

  • Average

    Votes: 7 29.2%

  • Below Average

    Votes: 2 8.3%

  • Poor

    Votes: 4 16.7%
  • Total voters
    24
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Dimesdan said:
JD said:
And now we get another example of why Dayton doesn't post here any more.
Click to expand...

I think you're getting him confused with someone else who spat his dummy out never to return.

As for Seekers, I read book one, wasn't that impressed and not read any of the others yet.
Click to expand...

Idran said:
Besides, Data Soong isn't even being consistent; they've said before that they haven't liked Mack since Destiny. They're not interested in addressing their points - there are plenty of posters on the board that might feel negatively about things but are happy to at least discuss them, but Data Soong isn't one of them. Basically every post of theirs in this subforum is popping up, letting off a blast about how awful something is, and popping away without any back-and-forth. Occasionally someone'll agree with them on something, and they'll pop back to go "YEAH", but that's it.

Unless that's what you meant, JD; the existence of posters like that. But there aren't really many of those around.
Click to expand...
I swore I remembered reading Dayton Ward making a post either here, or on Facebook about how he had stopped coming here because he got tired of people ripping on his books. Data Soong's post just made me think of that because it just seemed kind of rude. It's fine if you don't like a book, but to me you should at least try find a polite way to say it. Hell, I didn't even read or write the book and his post annoyed me.
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

JD said:
It's fine if you don't like a book, but to me you should at least try find a polite way to say it. Hell, I didn't even read or write the book and his post annoyed me.
Click to expand...

It annoyed me, too, and I had found (and articulated) specific faults about the present opus.

But on the other hand, I do reserve the right to be far more blunt than "Data Soong" was, for books as bad as the Paul Gillebaard opus to which I alluded in post 27 of this thread (thank God he doesn't write ST fiction; his first novel makes the worst ST novels of the late Bantam era seem like literary masterpieces by comparison!).
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Let's not derail this thread further with discussions of Data Soong - discuss the book, not other people please.
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Buddy Ebsen once wrote that "Writing fiction, there are no limits to what you write as long as it increases the value of the paper you are writing on."

While Paul Gillebaard's debut novel (whose title I've already invoked once today, in another thread; that's my limit for the MONTH of mentioning it by title) was so unspeakably vile that it actually DECREASED the value of the paper, I certainly would not say the same thing about the present opus, or any other ST novel that's made it into print as a Paramount-licensed work from a professional non-subsidy publisher.

There is no question in my mind that All That's Left has increased the value of the paper. But it does have definite faults, which I have politely articulated; without those faults, it would have added so much more to the value of the paper.
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

I enjoyed this. I've not been massively fond of the Seekers books so far but this worked better for me than the others. The aliens were suitably creepy and it was interesting to take a different approach to the host/parasite relationship than we've seen so far in Trek.

Yes the ending was a bit easy/abrupt but even that wasn't a major issue for me.
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

About half way through and not taking too well to the parasites agenda.
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

We had a wonderful time diving into this one with Dayton and Kevin on Literary Treks.
1447956141477
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

I finished this book today, and have come to the conclusion that it felt like a longer, more polished, third season TOS episode. While I liked it, I didn't find it very gripping, and the characters didn't get much in the way of growth - In particular, it seemed like we saw very little of the Endeavour's senior staff. Plus, there was that (aforementioned) rather rushed-feeling ending, amongst other little niggles.
However, I liked the idea and the execution of the 'collecteds' benign mind-control. Particular stand-outs were Tropp and Rideout - I'm curious to know if Tropp is related to (or is the same person as) the Denobulan with the same name who is the assistant CMO on the Enterprise-E, or just coincidentally has the same name (I think I'd rather the latter). Oh, and it was great to see some thoroughly competent junior officers - especially from the security division!
Over all, an "average" from me.

I'm also wondering if the Sagittarius would have been better to encounter the Lrondi so we could get Dastin's Trill point-of-view of the Host/brain-slug situation - especially as he's unjoined himself?
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Enjoying this so far (am not that far into it at all, though), but a quick continuity question: When the Aephas (I think? don't have the book in front of me) encounters the alien ship at the beginning, a reference is made to the Enterprise having recently encountered a similar vessel. I have racked my brain but can't figure out what this is referring to, because the ship, as described, "looks" unfamiliar to me. Is this perhaps a reference to a novel I haven't read, or am I forgetting something really obvious that will cost me some of my Trek fan cred points?

Thanks!
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Bibliomike said:
Enjoying this so far (am not that far into it at all, though), but a quick continuity question: When the Aephas (I think? don't have the book in front of me) encounters the alien ship at the beginning, a reference is made to the Enterprise having recently encountered a similar vessel. I have racked my brain but can't figure out what this is referring to, because the ship, as described, "looks" unfamiliar to me. Is this perhaps a reference to a novel I haven't read, or am I forgetting something really obvious that will cost me some of my Trek fan cred points?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The pod ship in "Beyond the Farthest Star" in TAS.
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Cyfa said:
I finished this book today, and have come to the conclusion that it felt like a longer, more polished, third season TOS episode. While I liked it, I didn't find it very gripping, and the characters didn't get much in the way of growth - In particular, it seemed like we saw very little of the Endeavour's senior staff. Plus, there was that (aforementioned) rather rushed-feeling ending, amongst other little niggles.
However, I liked the idea and the execution of the 'collecteds' benign mind-control. Particular stand-outs were Tropp and Rideout - I'm curious to know if Tropp is related to (or is the same person as) the Denobulan with the same name who is the assistant CMO on the Enterprise-E, or just coincidentally has the same name (I think I'd rather the latter). Oh, and it was great to see some thoroughly competent junior officers - especially from the security division!
Over all, an "average" from me.

I'm also wondering if the Sagittarius would have been better to encounter the Lrondi so we could get Dastin's Trill point-of-view of the Host/brain-slug situation - especially as he's unjoined himself?
Click to expand...

Tropp is the same character from the TNG books. We talked about him in our interview with Dayton and Kevin.
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Yeah, Denobulans are long-lived. I don't think the lifespans have been firmly established, but in Live by the Code, I refer to a character in his early 80s as being middle-aged. Although that would make Tropp either extremely young in Seekers or quite elderly in TNG. (Or maybe the Denobulans used genetic engineering to extend their lifespans even further by the 23rd/24th centuries.)
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Thank you Enterpriserules and Christopher!
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

I found this to be a fun read. It'd be fair to say I don't expect that much from Trek books, as I'm getting them for under a fiver and generally feel I've got my money's worth each time. (Buying 2 comics now would be more expensive with $3.99 being the standard rate now.)

I'm on the side that sees the Lrondi as a bunch of brain chemistry altering bastard slavers. They are very skilled at deploying sophistry to hide this, but demonstrate their own falsity of belief in it by their own actions. So screw 'em.

Of course, this isn't a Klingon tale which would have seen them get annihilated, no, the Feds take the higher road as you'd expect.

I quite liked the notion of splitting the two ships up in this pairing, with each being a separate adventure. Be good to get the two back together in #5.
 
Re: SKRS #4: All That's Left by Ward & Dilmore Review Thread (Spoiler!

Brain altering bastard slavers...Lrondi.

L.Ron....heh,heh!

Not touchin' that one
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top